The Cardigans radically altered themselves with Gran Turismo, then dipped into a darker fare with the five years later offering in 2003 of Long Gone Before Daylight. Now, the Cardigans have followed suit, with Nina Persson channelling her inner Polly Jean.

For, yes, Super Extra Gravity has more in common with PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea than it does the happy-go-lucky pop found on such charming offerings as First Band on the Room. Here, the guitars of Peter Svenson are used in far greater focus, with Persson putting in a vocal performance that is both nuanced yet approachable.

It helps that the songs on offer here really stand out – the brilliantly blasphemous “Godspell” has a nasty edge to it, while single “I Need Some Fine Win and You, You Need to Be Nicer” transcends its clunky moniker by making it into an excellent chorus. “Overload” borrows it’s melody from the final movement of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” (“Mumma, I just killed a man” can be sung over the beginning of each verse), while the combination of former Persson and former Shudder to Think member Nathan Larson’s lyrics are both odd and striking.

Like PJ’s most commercial and direct effort, Super Extra Gravity is shaded and coloured by the New York music tapestry, particularly the dark corners inhabited by the likes of the Velvet Underground. It’s a sound that really suits the group’s matured outlook, and one that they’ll hopefully continue to expand upon. The Cardigans have never sounded so complete as they do on Super Extra Gravity.